American classics are known for their opulence and when gathered together in one exquisitely landscaped facility such as Melbourne’s Flemington Racecourse, you can be sure to be visually stimulated with copious amounts of old school bing, bright paint and outrageous styling not seen on your daily drivers these days!
The annual All American Day put on by the AOMC and sponsored by Shannons Insurance saw a classy turnout of cool classic rides of all American Marques with an impressive array of club displays. Read More →
Elvis returns once again to present his vision of a show for custom, classic and late model cars and bikes seeing the third annual ShowcarsMelbourne custom car and bike show come to fruition! Saturday night saw those presenting their rides in all their glory setting up their displays and polishing up the bright work to perfection! Everything from immaculate street rods and hogs through to high tech rides were on show for the doting public to peruse over on show day. 
Saturday, March 15th saw the 6th running of The Ultimate Burnout Challenge at Avalon Raceway new Geelong. Competitors turned up in their droves ready to smash tires out on the purpose built pad.
Ford Australia never made a GT ute throughout the twentieth century, the best you could hope for was a stock V8 ute optioned up to GS specs. FoMoCo once considered a sporty ute called a Surferoo in 1969, built one out of interest and to test the waters of the youth market but that’s as far as it got. It was left up to individual owners to build their own GT workhorses and Bob’s maroon classic is one such vehicle that copped the treatment. 
Many of us have our automotive passions influenced at a young age as our undeveloped minds are shaped and warped as the case may be to the desired rides we hope to own one day. Mike Krieger from Ontario, Canada is no exception with his conversion taking place at the start of his adolescence. Mike’s Dad, George has been racing the ¼ mile in Chevys for most of Mike’s young life seeing his son get a first-hand introduction into the automotive entertainment scene. At age 11, Mike met Miss Hurst Shifter, Linda Vaughn (who I’m sure left a lasting impression on many a young males mind including those behind the wheel) and they became lifelong friends. At 14, Linda introduced Mike to Bob Riggle, professional driver of the Hurst Hemi Under Glass wheel stander. This custom racer was a 1968 Plymouth Barracuda with a fuel injected Chrysler Hemi mounted at the rear under the exceptionally large rear window allowing the car to wheel stand for exhibition purposes. Well this might explain the Hemi obsession! The other half of the obsession could be attributed to meeting Bill “Maverick” Golden who raced a red A100 Dodge known as the Little Red Wagon. This cabover pickup was the first wheel standing truck as well as the world’s fastest truck circa 1965. 
The four door Monaro was Holden’s answer to Ford’s four door GTs and while the two door versions are most sought after, the four door Aussie muscle cars live on strong in the heart of any Aussie car fan. Bruno’s silver four door epitomises what it is that we love about these iconic muscle cars and be you a Holden, Ford or Valiant fan, you’d have to agree Bruno has hit the mark perfectly! 
Investing in something for the first time can be pretty nerve racking, not sure how it’s going to turn out and have you made all the right decisions! It might have worked for others but will it work for you? This is what the Cruzin Knights car club faced today as they embarked on their inaugural car and bike show held at Wyndham Vale. I arrived early, around 8:30 am and drove into the tree lined carpark on the edge of Presidents Park. Club cars occupied one end of the large parking area while non-club cars were parked in another section. It was all looking fairly quiet as whispers of a small event could be the order of the day. 
Once again it was time to slick back the hair, don and old school garage shirt and put on your favourite dancing shoes, jump in the classic custom cruiser and make your way up to the historic town of Ballarat for the Ballarat Beat Fest! This annual event is put on each year thanks to Arthur Mats and his team seeing many local and international acts booked for the four day event! Acts such as the Lincolns, Rock a Dees, Billy and the Headliners, Lucky 7, Starliners, Hanks Jalopy Demons and many other rockin cool cats belt out their brand of the cool fifties jive while eager punters soak up the vibe either kicking back with a Tiki cocktail from one of the numerous venues hosting the groups or taking to the dance floor with their favourite partner for a romp around the polished tiles! 
Muscle cars are as popular today as when they were first conceived. The rarer the purpose built machine the more car fanatics want it. That goes for Albert Pace and his Thunderbolt clone too. He spied a 1964 Fairlane Thunderbolt in a magazine one day and decided that was the car for him but with only 100 of these factory experimental drag cars produced, he knew he wasn’t going to be able to get his hands on a genuine one so the only option was to build his own. 
The borough of Queenscliff once again came alive with the roar of hot rods and customs as they converged on the quiet seaside town for the annual Geelong Street Rodders Queenscliff Rod Run. Over 450 entrants participated in this well-established event seeing them entertained throughout the three days from winery tours, theme park activities as well as cruising the historic town and the massive show n shine on Sunday. 
Caprice Photography Automotive Art 